One Thing We Can Agree On - Market Update September 9-13, 2024
Unfortunately
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My one week break somehow turned into a two-week break due to a last-minute work trip. In complete honestly, it was nice not reading the news for a while, I am contemplating changing my content intake, more on that on Wednesday's Money Mentality (subscribe). For now, this is your Market Update.
Summary of Topics:
Economic News
High Inflation is Officially Gone
Child Poverty Increases
Stats of the Week
Students spending $1365 to decorate dorm rooms.
42 State Attorney Generals ask for warning label on social media platforms
$5.6 Billion lost to Crypto Scams
Looking Ahead
Rate Cut
Sports I Love
Man U still SUCKS
Ravens have the Man U disease
Real Madrid is my only hope
Markets
August was a wonderful month for investors. Even with all the noise, the market did what the markets do and went up and to the right. However, historically September has been a bad month for the markets as summer ends and everyone gets back on the grind to earn those bonuses and promotions. But as we always say here on the newsletter, keep calm ignore the noise and keep investing.
YTD Results:
Tale of the Tape
Economy
Like the weather in the south, inflation has completely cooled off.
By The Numbers: CPI for the month of August was 2.5% compared to 2.9% in July. It is the lowest rate of inflation since February of 2021.
The main driver of inflation falling that much in a month was gas prices. Which fell 0.6%
You have probably noticed that gas has been much cheaper recently.
Core CPI which removed Food and Energy prices was 3.2% same as July.
🥂🍻Takeaway: If you heard cheering on Wednesday and Thursday that was Jerome Powell and his Fed buddies celebrating their victory over inflation. This was the fifth month in a row that inflation has dropped. This leads to one simple directive for the Fed, cut rates later this month. It is expected to be a 25-basis point interest rate cut.
💢😠Still Ain't Happy: Even with the good news of inflation's rapid decline. Most people still do not care because prices are still much higher today than they were in 2021. This is while household incomes have finally eclipsed 2019 levels.
Last year, the child poverty rate in the US doubled to 13.7%.
Background: In 2021, the number of children living in poverty dropped rapidly. The decline was due to expanded food aid and child tax credit that was part of President Biden's American Rescue Plan. Many families received up to $300 per child.
Unfortunately, in 2022 Congress blocked the extension of these tax credits. Plunging many children back into poverty.
💬In Their Words: Melissa Boteach, vice president at Nation Women's Law Center said, "This data once again highlights that poverty in our country isn't a personal failing, but rather a policy choice."
💰Takeaway: The answer to helping anyone in poverty is not advice or good will, it is MONEY! For all the fear of people will abuse free money, the tax credit showed us what families actually did with the money. They bought food and took care of bills. Which ironically helped the economy GROW.
I am hoping that we get a concrete and permanent child benefit in the near future. Because this is one of the few things we seem to have a bipartisan agreement on.
Stats of the Week
The amount students are spending to decorate their dorm rooms this fall, according to the National Retail Federation. This adds up to about $87 Billion being spent this year to glam up rooms away from home.
Some students are hiring interior designers for upwards of $10,000 to get their room looking right (what happened to putting up a poster?). When asked why they are spending so much? The answer is they are trying to make their rooms instagrammable!
My hate and detest for social media GROWS!
👩🏾⚖️42 State Attorney Generals
On Wednesday, 42 State AGs are supporting the Surgeon General of the US and are asking Congress to require social media companies to put a "mental health" warning label on social media apps.
Is a health warning label the thing that would cause things to change? Unlikely but it is a start to force some level of accountability on these companies. I do not think social media is the reason for the mental state of so many of the younger generation, but it certainly does not help.
The FBI reported that Americans were duped out of $5.6 Billion in 2023 from various crypto scams. This is an increase of 45% from 2022. Crypto has become the easiest and best way for scammers to get into the pockets of everyone. It does not only happen to those who are looking for a way to replicate the quick riches of crypto millionaires bragging on Instagram or Facebook. It is also well-meaning people who get played by these sophisticated scams.
Ways to protect yourself:
If it sounds too good to be true, IT IS! Trust your instincts.
Protect yourself by only using resources that are recognizable.
If the link being sent seems fishy to you, don't click it.
If someone is promising certain things but you have to go on a private discord or WhatsApp, RUN.
Always check the sender of emails for random misspellings or random symbols.
Turn on Credit Freeze on all 3 Bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion, Experian.
Nick Maggiulli talks through why these things are so popular.
Looking Ahead
%✂️ONE THING ONLY
Papa Powell and the Fed announce rate cut decision on Wednesday after the FOMC meeting on Tuesday. All signs indicate a cut of 25 basis points.
Sports I Love
😡🤬Man U Ensures I Will Be Depressed
This team is the epitome of mediocrity. The worst part is I do not even know who to blame.
Is it the coach? After getting a blank checkbook to get any and every player he wants. This guy still cannot get consistent results from this team.
Is it the players? These players hearts are made of glass. If anything does not go their way, they act like cookies and crumble.
Is it the ownership and front office? Yes, because for years they basically tried to buy their way out of disfunction and that never worked. However, now they have put a good system in place but that ain’t working so far.
Who do I blame? ALL OF THEM!! Cause all they ALL SUCK!! Players who forget their role on the team. Coach who keeps playing players who ain’t living up to the expected standard (looking at you Rashford). Ownership who will not get out of the way so the team can move into a new era.
Even after winning on Saturday, nothing has changed in my belief about this team. A missed penalty is what saved them. If Southampton (a bottom table team) had scored the penalty they had in the first 15 mins of this math, Man U would have completely fallen apart.
🐦⬛Don’t DO Me like This RAVENS?
Even the Ravens are picking up the disease of Man U. Starting the season 0-2!! Like what is happening?!!! Why are all the teams I root for SUCKING?!!!
🏆Real Madrid
Los Galacticos!!
